China’s Q3 GDP Grows 4.5%, Bringing First Nine Months to 4.6%

China’s National Bureau of Statistics said on Oct. 19 that Q3 GDP rose 4.5% year on year, with January–September growth at 4.6%. September industrial output rose 5.5% and retail sales 1.1%.

By FOCUS BUSINESS editorial staff

China’s National Bureau of Statistics released its report on the national economy for the third quarter of 2026 on Oct. 19. Gross domestic product grew 4.5% year on year in Q3, 0.2 percentage points faster than the 4.3% recorded in Q2. Growth for January–September stands at 4.6%.

Third-quarter growth

Quarterly growth was 5.0% in Q1, 4.3% in Q2 and 4.5% in Q3. Q3 GDP came to 37.54 trillion yuan, up 1.2% from the previous quarter. By sector, the primary industry grew 3.6%, the secondary 3.4% and the tertiary 5.2%.

GDP for the first three quarters totaled 107.11 trillion yuan, up 4.6% year on year at constant prices. The government’s growth target for this year is 4.5% to 5%.

September indicators

Value added of large industrial enterprises rose 5.5% year on year in September, and the services production index rose 4.8%. Retail sales of consumer goods reached 4.24 trillion yuan, up 1.1%. The national urban surveyed unemployment rate was 5.2%.

Fixed-asset investment (excluding rural households) for January–September totaled 33.41 trillion yuan, down 7.2% from a year earlier.

Business Checkpoints

Retail sales growth picked up from 0.4% in August to 1.1% in September. Korean-owned companies supplying China’s domestic market or running local distribution can use the trend as a reference when setting quarterly sales plans.

Total goods trade for January–September came to 39.94 trillion yuan, up 18.8%, with exports up 16.4% and imports up 22.3%. Companies with a large share of Korea–China trade may want to read these figures alongside customs statistics.

※ This article is based on data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics and Chinese and international media reports.